1In general, a brave and great spirit is seen above all in two things, one of which consists in disdain for external things, when one is convinced that a man ought not to admire or wish for or seek anything except what is honourable and seemly, and that he should yield to no man, no disturbance of the mind, and no fortune. 1The second thing is that, when you are disposed in spirit as I said above, you should perform deeds which are great indeed and most useful, but extremely hard and full of toils and dangers both to life and to many things which pertain to life. 67Of these two things all the splendour, the grandeur, and, I add, the usefulness too lies in the latter, but the cause and the principle that makes men great lies in the former; 67for in it is that which makes spirits outstanding and disdainful of human things.
67And this itself is seen in two things: if you judge that only what is honourable is good, and if you are free from every disturbance of the mind. 67For both those things. 67which seem to most people exceptional and splendid, to regard them as small and to despise them on firm and steady principle must be held the mark of a brave and great spirit; and to bear those things which seem bitter, which are many and various in the life and fortune of men, in such a way that you depart in nothing from your natural state, nothing from the dignity of the wise man, is the mark of a robust spirit and of great constancy.
68It is not consistent, moreover, that one who is not broken by fear should be broken by desire, nor that one who has shown himself unconquered by toil should be conquered by pleasure. 68Therefore we must both avoid these things and flee the desire for money; 68for nothing is so characteristic of a narrow and small spirit as to love riches, nothing more honourable and magnificent than to despise money if you do not have it, and, if you do, to devote it to beneficence and liberality. 68We must also beware of the desire for glory, as I said above; 68for it snatches away liberty, for which great-souled men ought to make every effort.
68Nor indeed should commands be sought; rather they should sometimes not be accepted, or sometimes be laid down. 69We must be free, moreover, from every disturbance of the mind, both from desire and fear and also from distress and excessive pleasure and anger, so that there may be tranquillity of mind and freedom from care, which bring both constancy and dignity. 69But there are and have been many who, seeking that tranquillity of which I speak, have withdrawn from public business and taken refuge in leisure; 69among these, both the noblest philosophers, far the foremost, and certain stern and serious men could not bear the ways either of the people or of its leaders, and some lived in the country, delighting in their private estate.
70These men had the same aim as kings: to lack nothing, to obey no one, to enjoy liberty, whose essence is to live as you please.